Emerald Biofuels to Start Construction on West Virginia Biodiesel Plant in Spring

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Privately held transportation fuel company Emerald Biofuels LLC (Golf, Illinois) expects to be issued an air quality permit from the West Virginia Environmental Protection Air Quality Division soon, allowing the company to begin construction on its biodiesel plant in the state in the spring.

The project was first announced in 2007, and after a number of delays, including financing of the project, which the company is still finalizing, the project has a good chance of moving forward.

The 40 million-gallon-per-year plant will be located in the Bayer CropSciences Manufacturing Industrial Park in Institute, West Virginia, on the Kanawah River, just north of Charleston. The site has excellent transportation infrastructure, with access to barge, rail and truck shipping.

The company is currently negotiating terms with an engineering, procurement and construction contractor and expects to announce the award in about 60 days. The plant will process oil from soybeans and other seed crops into biodiesel. The company will utilize some of the existing equipment that is already located on-site in their process.

Construction of the $45 million plant is expected to start in April or May of this year, and the plant should be in full production by mid-2012.

The Bayer CropScience Manufacturing Industrial Park is a full-service facility that is home to chemical manufacturing plants owned by Union Carbide Corporation, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW); Praxair Incorporated (NYSE:PX), FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC), Adisseo, Reagent Chemical, Catalyst Refiners and Bayer CropScience.

Industrial Info's Databases provide a comprehensive outline of all current development activities in the emerging alternative fuels market. Our North American Ethanol Database covers 203 plants in operation and 358 plants under various development phases. Industrial Info's North American Biodiesel Database covers 153 operational plants and 72 plants under development, and the North American Wood Fuel Pellet Database includes 59 operational plants producing greater than 25,000 tons annually, and 37 projects under way.

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